UNSW researchers have programmed industrial robots to tackle the vast array of e-waste thrown out by Australians every year.
The research shows robots can learn and memorise how various electronic products are designed, enabling them to be disassembled for recycling at ever-increasing speeds.
It is a joint project by researchers at the School of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering’s Sustainable Manufacturing and Life Cycle Engineering Research Group (SMLCE) and the School of Computer Science and Engineering.
“There are millions of end-of-life products that we don’t know how to disassemble, despite legislation that tells us to do so,” SMLCE founder and project leader Professor Sami Kara says.
“The biggest problem is uncertainty – the number of different products coming into e-recycling centres and their condition.”
While humans can deal with product variety, it is still labour-intensive and costly to break down products one-by-one.
It is also potentially hazardous owing to the risk of exposure to toxic materials used in electronics.
The researchers now believe they can automate the entire process with cognitive robotics.
link.
No comments:
Post a Comment